Same roof, two utilities, two paybacks
Enter your system. See how long it takes to pay back if you are served by Austin Energy, and how long if you are a Pedernales Electric member. Anything blank, zero, negative or not a number is rejected with a message, never silently replaced.
Austin Energy raised its Value of Solar credit 27%
From Oct 1, 2026 Austin Energy pays 12.89¢ per kWh your panels produce (systems under 1 MW; 10.22¢ for 1 MW and larger). Austin Energy's own example: a 6 kW system's credit rises from about $1,000 to about $1,300 a year. The rate is recalculated every three years, and the credit can never exceed your electric charges. Sources: Austin Energy release, Oct 22, 2026, Value of Solar rate page and the tariff rider (credit capped at electric charges).
Property tax: Texas Tax Code Sec. 11.27 exempts from property tax the appraised value a solar device adds to your home, when it is mainly for on-site energy. You must apply on Form 50-123 with your county appraisal district between Jan 1 and Apr 30. It saves roughly your local tax rate times the value the system adds; we do not put a number on it. Sources: Sec. 11.27 (2025 text), Texas Comptroller exemptions page.
Austin Energy customerValue of Solar: 12.89¢ on every kWh produced
Credit = the lesser of production × 12.89¢ and your electric charges. Rate effective Oct 1, 2026 (Austin Energy).
Pedernales Electric (PEC) memberSelf-use saves 10.91¢; exports earn 7.19¢
Self-use range: - (at 10% | 50% | 100% self-use).
Net cost -. Self-use avoids Base + Delivery + Transmission charges; exports earn the Sustainable Power Credit against the Base Power Charge only.
Production for these inputs: - kWh a year. Simple payback: no financing, no panel degradation, no future rate changes, no federal credit (it ended for buyers; EnergySage, Oct 23, 2026).
25 years, side by side
Cumulative savings minus net cost. After 25 years: Austin Energy -, PEC -. Flat rates assumed; Austin Energy resets its Value of Solar rate about every three years and PEC resets its credit yearly, so neither line is a forecast.
Why the two utilities give different answers
Austin Energy
Pays 12.89¢ for everything your panels make, plus a $4,000 rebate if you use one of its participating contractors. You keep paying normal rates for what you use. Rules and steps →
Pedernales Electric
No solar rebate. Pays 7.1921¢ only for exports, applied to the Base Power Charge, and unused credit expires each December. Solar you use in the house is worth more. What to do about it →
Who this is for
Homeowners in Austin Energy or Pedernales Electric territory, including the Hill Country (Spicewood, Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, Marble Falls), who have learned that their utility, not their installer, sets the solar math.
What the other pages do, and what this one does differently
Austin Energy
Its Solar for your home page is the authority on its own rebate, rate and contractor list, and we link to it. It does not compare with PEC or run your numbers. This page does both.
NATiVE Solar
An Austin Energy participating contractor in Dripping Springs. Its Austin and Hill Country page compares the two utilities in words and has no rate figures or payback math. It is an installer that sells systems; we show the numbers and sell none.
Austin Solar FAQ
Its quote-reading guide teaches the three-quote method and says its author is not an installer and sells no leads. It gives no dated utility rates. We add those, a calculator, and a checklist built from Austin Energy's proposal guidance.
Descriptions are of those pages as read October 28, 2026. If one is out of date, write [email protected].
Austin Energy: participating contractors and the rebate quiz →